KIRKLAND – On a day filled with quotes about missed opportunities and unmet expectations, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck relayed the only one that really matters.
“Where do we go from here?” Hasselbeck said on Monday. “I think that’s been the message of the day.”
Fresh off a sudden end to the 2006 season, the Seahawks expressed disappointment but also found time to look ahead.
“The sky’s the limit,” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “I think we’ve got all the guys in the right place. Overall, we’ve got the right team, but it all starts in the offseason.”
That offseason officially started Monday, one day after a 27-24 playoff loss at Chicago. Instead of looking at tape of the next opponent, the Seahawks coaching staff will pore over tape of the 2006 season and try to figure out what to do next.
Personnel-wise, the Seahawks have plenty of question marks heading into the offseason.
Veteran center Robbie Tobeck announced his retirement, while the futures of thirty-somethings Chris Gray (36), Mack Strong (35) and Bobby Engram (34) are up in the air. The free agent class includes tight end Jerramy Stevens, kicker Josh Brown and Ken Hamlin. High-priced veterans like defensive end Grant Wistrom and wide receiver Darrell Jackson might face pay cuts.
Even the coaching staff could see some changes, as head coach Mike Holmgren hinted during his Monday press conference.
“I’m in the process of going through and thinking about some of those things,” he said. “… I wouldn’t think any major changes.
“Please don’t pin me down on that yet. I’m still processing that stuff.”
The reasons for optimism come from a solid core of returning players who are still in their prime – current and former Pro Bowlers like Hasselbeck, running back Shaun Alexander and linebackers Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson are among them. The receiving corps has depth and youth in Jackson, Branch, Nate Burleson and D.J. Hackett.
Even the offensive line, which was one of the biggest question marks throughout the season, looks promising because of the way youngsters like center Chris Spencer and left guard Rob Sims played down the stretch.
“I really believe that we’re in a good place now,” Holmgren said. “More good happens than bad. We’ve been in the playoffs, and we’ve won some divisions. It’s kind of the way you would envision it to be, and then if you get a little fortunate you go further and get into the Super Bowl.”
In order to properly address the future, the Seahawks have to evaluate their recent past. A team that was expected to get back to the Super Bowl fell short of some people’s expectations – and not just because of the myriad of injuries. Star players like Hasselbeck, Alexander and left tackle Walter Jones did not play up to expectations. The defense was susceptible to deep passes one week, and to cutback runners the next week.
There are a lot of question marks that need to be addressed if this team wants to get back to the level that it attained last season.
The 2006 Seahawks didn’t quite reach that level. While Holmgren doesn’t necessarily see that as a disappointment, some of the players are open about the team’s inability to live up to the Super Bowl-or-bust expectations.
“It makes not getting there hurt a lot more,” Hasselbeck said. “For a lot of us, that’s what we’re feeling right now. That’s what we expected. That’s what we were working for all season long.
“High expectations are just a part of it. I’m glad we have high expectations.”
Despite at least one retirement, a long list of free agents and a season that fell short of its overall goal, the 2007 Seahawks will go into next fall with high expectations once again.
“We’ve known that we were going to grow into a team that, every year, we’re going to have a shot at it. And we’re that team now,” Alexander said. “We had a shot at it this year, we had a shot at it last year, and we’ll have a shot at it next year.”
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